


Six Degrees of Separation

by CsillaDream



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Accident, Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Don't Try This At Home, Drunk Lavi, M/M, Regret, Relationship Problems, Stages of Separation, Yaoi, laven
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-30
Updated: 2015-02-01
Packaged: 2018-02-27 12:18:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2692685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CsillaDream/pseuds/CsillaDream
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lavi and Allen have a huge fight and the young Brit leaves; alone and suffering, the redhead undergoes the six degrees of separation until he can recover from this heartbreak. Laven AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. you think the worst is a broken heart

His head was pulsing with each heartbeat and as his mind slowly came around to the awful smell of pine cleaner and soap, the young man groaned. Cautiously opening an eye, he immediately regretted it and slammed it shut; movement to his left made him turn his head, forcing red tresses to splay out on the sickly-white pillow.

"Where am I?" He asked to the other person in the room, his voice coming out hoarse as if it were dryer than the desert.

A brunette man looked up from the chart he was reading and walked over to the redhead, "I see you've returned to the world of the living," receiving only an irritated gaze from the one lying down, the man quickly added: "You're in the hospital, Mr. Bookman... You were in a car accident earlier tonight,"

_Car accident...?_

With his mind clearer and his head throbbing a little less, the redhead took notice of the darkness surrounding his right eye; lifting a hand, which ended up being more work than he anticipated, his fingers felt the bandaging wrapped around the side of his face covering his right eye.  _Did something happen to my eye?_

"I'm Dr. Neah," The man introduced himself before two other people stepped inside the room, "and these two officers need to hear what happened... whatever you can remember,"

"Sorry to ask of this, kid but we need you to answer a few questions..." began one of the officers as the other took out a handheld pad of paper and a pen.

The young man nodded his head as he remained lying down and so the interrogation began...

"State your name for the record,"

"Lavi Bookman,"

"What car were you driving, Lavi?"

"My jeep,"

"Were you drinking?"

"No"

"Doing drugs?"

"No"

"Then explain how a jeep driven by someone  **not**  under any influence ends up in a heads-on collision?" Clenching his fist, Lavi knew he would have to explain what was the glaring obvious truth but first: "Was anyone hurt?"

Neah spoke up this time: "Aside from you, the other car's injuries were minor..."

"Thank god," The redhead whispered in relief before turning back to the officers, "To answer your question, I was heartbroken... We had the biggest fight tonight and we separated,"

Not content with his answer, the officer that had done all the talking scoffed before nudging his partner and they left. Lavi turned his attention over to the doctor, "Hey Doc... did something happen to my eye or something?"

Neah opened his mouth before closing it enough so a breathless sigh escaped then muttering, "Suppose I better tell you now," flipping a switch on a small board, "these are the x-rays we did on the right side of your face," pointing to a line, "I'm afraid this is a fracture on your eye orbit," turning his back to the redhead he finished with a: "Your right eye will need to heal before it can be used,"

"How long...?"

"About a month or so, if you're lucky" The man flipped the switch off before walking back over to the other, who made an attempt to sit up but failed.

At the redhead's side, Neah added: "Sadly I can only prescribe medicine for the physical injuries... I know of no medicine to help with a broken heart other than time..." before excusing himself to attend to his other patients.

Lying against the sickly-white bedding, Lavi's green eye seemed to water-down as his mind wandered; what was he going to do now? How was he going to get over Allen? Did he even want to? Was there another way to get around this broken heart?

Questions plagued his mind; while dating the young British adult, the redhead had literally read every relationship 'how-to' book out there - Yes, he was a novice in this department but for Allen's sake he tried hard to learn how to be a good boyfriend. The white-haired man was patient as his boyfriend sought to improve himself and his mindset...

Lavi bit back tears that threatened to spill as memories of staying up late watching chick-flicks and TV shows surrounding romance; maybe Dr. Neah was right: there was nothing but time to heal the pain in his chest.

A new question formed and he voiced it out to the empty room: "Just how much time until it heals?"

He searched his mind but couldn't come up with a single answer that gave him a time-set instead the only thing he came up with was an entry he read in a book way back in the beginning. The entry spoke of 'the six degrees of separation' but what were they again...?

Before he could really strain his mind to remember, his door burst open and several familiar figures stormed inside and up to his bedside. Kanda, dragged by Lenalee and Alma followed shortly by Krory and Daisya stood before him worry evident in their eyes (minus Kanda's). Not sure what to really say considering his situation, the redhead could only muster: "Uh... hey guys...?"

"You get into a car accident and all you can say is 'hey guys'...!" Lenalee sobbed as she threw her arms around the redhead's neck, oblivious to the pain she was causing him in doing so. Lavi froze as the girl's body hit his body like a ton of bricks; he knew he must be in real bad shape considering Lenalee was light as a feather.

Alma was next to jump onto bandwagon: "Are you okay?" his eyes were brimming with enough tears to make up for the lack of ones from Kanda; the redhead chuckled uncomfortably, "y-yeah, i-i'm fine"

Daisya and Kanda exchanged glances before the prankster asked, "So, like what happened? Hospital says you were in some kind of accident,"

"Uh, yeah but don't worry... I just fell asleep at the wheel," Sticking out his tongue playfully in hopes his friends would buy his act and leave him alone again. Lady Luck was not on his side. Oh no. Krory was proof of that with a simple: "I wonder how Allen will take this," - no one seemed to notice the atmosphere darkening around their friend at the mention of the British male.

Swallowing the pain, Lavi forced a playful response: "He'll probably hide all the coffee in the house," followed by an equally-forced laugh. His friends seemed to buy the act as they didn't stay long and before long, the redhead was alone again. With only the sounds of the low beeps of machines around him, the information he was trying to remember suddenly popped to the forefront of his mind...

_...first, you think the worst is a broken heart_


	2. what's gonna kill you

It was day two of his hospital stay, Dr. Neah had demanded that the redhead stay for at least five days before he'd release him without having to worry that the other would end up more injured than when he entered the building. Bored, lifeless eye stared out the window watching the same scenery he had been gazing since he had been moved into another room. Voices from his left caused a green eye to glance over to see a small group of children peering into his hospital room from the doorway; the moment he locked gazes with one of them, they all backed away. He sighed before sliding out of his bed and tip-toeing over to the door to hear the same voices but hushed. He poked his head out in the direction to see the group tense up; "Did you guys need help?" He asked gently, his bangs hung loosely over the bandaging on his right eye.

"A-ah," fiddling with his finger nervously, "W-we were wo-wondering," the young brunette boy paused before glancing over his shoulders at the dirty blonde boy near him for help; the other boy stepped in front of the other two kids and up beside the brunette before finishing his friend's question: "we were wondering what happened to you, niisan?"

His old liveliness ghosted over his features as he crouched down asking, "What your names?"

"Leo and this is Jan," pointing to the brunette boy beside him before introducing the two kids behind them, "Archie and Mei-Ling,"

Plopping down on the floor outside his room, Lavi went about answering Leo's question as well as introducing himself to the youngsters: "Well, Leo... I'm Lavi and I got into a car accident..." his voice trailing off slightly.

A small hand puts a little pressure on his knees as the brunette girl, Mei-Ling comforted him: "Its okay... the important thing is you're alive," making a green eye widen before he smiled and thanked her.

He stayed with them, chatting aimlessly; he learned that the group had been admitted to the hospital for various reason...

Leo because he had broken his arm from falling out of a tree; his father was often busy so he had asked that his son be given a room until he healed.

Jan because he had been in a car crash with his parents; his parents were both still unconscious so he was allowed to have a room until they recovered.

Archie and Mei-Ling had been exposed to a poison at school; they needed constant watch in care they got worse.

As such, it was no surprise when a nurse came over and told Archie and Mei-Ling that it was time to take their medicine; it was then that everyone decided it was time to part ways for now. Walking back to his room, Lavi waved goodbye to the children as they returned to their respective rooms but right as he took a step to enter his room - he heard from the nurse's station something that dragged his heart up to his throat.

The name of someone close to him. The surname of someone he cared the most about. And a room number that was merely a corridor or so away. Just like that he booked it down the hall, earning a few worried complaints from his nurses and a few doctors along the way; he skidded, as best as he could bare-footed, to a stop in front of the room number he heard from the nurses. His chest was pounding in his throat as he slowly opened the door to reveal a boy, his age, lying in the bed; the boy had short light brown hair. Lavi's heart sank again - this was not Allen Walker. Stepping up the edge, he lifted the chart that hung from the end and muttered the patient's name, "Walker, Yumasaki..."

He silently apologized to the unconscious boy before leaving the room and walking back to his own with his head hung, bangs draping over his remaining eye.  _It wasn't Allen... It wasn't A-Allen who was in that room... Wasn't A-Allen w-who had gotten in-injured..._

Tears pricked his eye just as his body met with his hospital bed; last night had really happened! He had gotten into a car accident after his boyfriend, of five years, left him.  _Stupid fight. Why did we have to fight that night? Why didn't we try to talk it out? Why didn't I chase after him when he slammed that front door? There was so much I wanted to tell him at that moment... Dammit! Why can't I just be honest with him? With myself! Dammit! Dammit..._

"...dammit," tears broke past his defenses and pelted like a small storm on his pillow, "...A-Allen... I'm... sorry... I was... an idiot... I wish... dammit! I wish... I could have... one more... one more chance... to apologize..."

It was then that the redhead remembered the next part...

_...its gonna kill you is the second part_


	3. when your world splits down the middle

"C'mon Neah... I'm fine," the nursing staff had lost count of the number of times the redhead had said those words, "See? I can move just fine," to prove his point, Lavi stretched in different directions.

The young doctor was growing irritated and slowly losing his resolve after the week filled with those words, "You are not to be left alone for  **any**  reason," he began, "If for whatever reason you feel light-headed, contact me immediately" holding out a business card that the redhead turned over to see his doctor's cell phone number jotted down in ink.

"Seriously? Thanks doc," Lavi broke away; already dressed in his own clothes again, he signed himself out of the hospital before calling up the only person not likely to skin him alive for calling right after people normally got off work.

"Yu~ you came for me!" The redhead laughed when he received death glares from his best friend as he climbed into the Japanese man's car; Lavi simply asked if they could go to the bar for drinks and invite everyone else.

"What about moyashi?"

"H-he's b-busy to-tonight," Lavi knew his best friend wasn't likely to ever push the issue so his white lie was enough to cover his ass. For now. Watching the scenery beyond it wasn't long before they were pulling up to their favorite bar 'HQ'; as they walked inside, Lavi sent a mass text to majority of his contacts - minus Allen, which he spent a long time staring at before moving on; Gramps and Komui.

Several had quickly responded back with an immediate answer while others seemed to have waited until they were already home to text him back. All of those latter text all basically said 'no they couldn't come'. He settled into a booth with Kanda already sitting on one side; their friends would be here shortly so when the waitress came by, he opted for a rum and coke.

When his drink arrived so did his friends, they settled in: Krory sitting next to Lavi, Lenalee beside Kanda and Miranda pulling up a chair at the end. It was as it always was - minus Allen who normally sat beside the redhead while Krory sat on the end with Miranda. He should be fine as long as-

"Hey is everything okay with you and Allen?" Lenalee asked as Lavi caught a glimpse of a waitress heading their way; when he didn't answer right away, she pouted and right as she was about to push the issue, the waitress made it to their table asking if she could get them something to drink. Once everyone else ordered something and the waitress left, Lavi knew he'd have to answer.

Brushing it off, "Why do you ask?" he questioned as he took a slow sip of his drink; relieved that it tasted more like rum than coke for once. The Chinese girl sighed before crossing her arms: "I spoke to Allen recently..."

Her word oozed with a dangerous tone that simply stated that one false move would only lead to trouble; Lavi, being the slightly more adventurous, continued feigning innocence: "Oh~"

Slamming her hands on the table, "Lavi Bookman, talk" her voice drew curious spectators to glance over but every single one shoved their attention elsewhere when they saw the dark aura surrounding the normally smiling adult.

And talk is exactly what the redhead did; it took several hours and many drinks later before he finished...

"EEH?! YOU AND ALLEN BROKE UP?!" Lavi narrowed his good eye at her; could the girl be any louder with the news? Or was she hoping to have the whole bar know that he had been dumped recently?

"Yes," He grumbled as the questions seemed to repeat themselves.

Krory was next: "And this lead to the accident...?"

"...yes..."

Miranda followed suit, "So does that mean Allen doesn't know then?"

"...unless one of you let it slip then no..."

And of course, Kanda was the cherry on top of it all: "Baka Usagi,"

Now Lavi felt like crap, he was the one who had gotten into an accident so why was everyone asking about Allen? It was the Brit's fault. Or was it the redhead's fault? It was someone's fault that the accident happened. It was someone's fault that he and the love of his life broke it off. Right? He was sure of it. He was?

Lenalee's voice drew him from his thoughts, "I did talk to Allen about the accident,"

"Butttttttt whyyyyyyy Riinariii?! 'M f'ne... Arrrreeen...  _hedontneedaknooow_... 'm f'ne..." Krory chuckled at his friend's drunkenness - only Lavi could talk and talk until he ended up drinking himself into a drunken mess.

As the next hours passed, both girls excused themselves and Krory before heading out which left Kanda with the drunk. The  _affectionate_  drunk. Lavi had taken it upon himself to start braiding the Japanese's man long hair despite the dangerous aura surrounding his soon-to-be killer. It didn't take much longer after being left with the redhead did Kanda drag the drunkard over to the counter, leaving the bartender to look after his friend.

"awwwwwwwwh~ Yuuuuuuuu... byebyes Yuuuu~" A dazed green eye looked over at the bartender, "OHMAIGAWSH! Miiiiiisssssssterrrr, did youu... you hafe pweeetty pinkkkk haiiiiirrrrruuuuu~" before breaking out in giggles, "Can I tttouchhhh iiiiiiiit?"

The bartender merely chuckled before placing a glass with clear liquid at Lavi, who stared at the liquid with bright awe. Much like a child on Christmas. Examining it with child-like curiosity, the redhead asked: "Waaaats diiiiiiisssssss?"

"Its a magical drink," That was all the bartender needed to say; Lavi gulped the whole glass down in one go, cooling the small burning sensation in his throat. Not that he really minded the burn, it felt nice at times. Almost numbing.

His head felt heavy and the bar looked inviting; maybe if he rested his head, he'd be able to at least walk home without any problem. A dazed green eye stared at the empty glass that once held the magical drink from the bartender - maybe he could ask for more.

* * *

A slightly drunk lump sat mumbling at the bar; red hair being the only visible clue to the lump's identity. A small creak of the bar stool beside him stirred the redheaded drunk to glance over at the source: a person who  _strongly_  resembled Allen Walker, the reason he was in this situation. The reason most of his friends no longer wanted to talk with him. His mind was screaming a jumbled mess of thoughts and all the green-eyed male could do was stare as pink lips formed words. Words he couldn't distinguish before his mind reeled backwards into black. His only sense that still showed some sign of life was smell - peppermint flooded his senses the moment the darkness took over...

_hey Allen smells like peppermint..._

His last thought before he transformed into a snoring lump.

_...and the third when your world splits down the middle..._


	4. you're gonna think that you fix yourself

"Good to see you up and about," Anita smiled as she patted the recently-released redhead; Lavi had finally gotten Neah's approval that he was well enough to go back to work.

Letting a small smile reach his lips, Lavi replied: "Yeah, its good to be back..."

* * *

As he stood in front of a crowd of roughly thirty teenagers, Lavi wondered for a brief moment if he was but the thought was pushed aside almost immediately when one of his students asked: "Hey Teach, what happened to your eye?"

Another quickly chiming in with just as much interested: "You kinda look like a pirate now," which sent much of the classroom into a series of chatters that left the redhead letting a small chuckle escape him.

"S-Sorry, I was sure you guys would be cracking jokes about the eye patch," Lavi laughed when his class suddenly was silenced and stared over at him in surprise.

A student from the back spoke up: "Its more like we prefer you over your gramps,"

"Well I miss you guys too," Lavi smiled as his unease from earlier completely vanished and he began his lesson plan for today.

It did feel good to be back at work. In front of his students. Teaching something he was especially fond of. He got his love for history from his Gramps, who also taught history at the same high school. Western history while his grandson taught European history. And it wasn't long before he felt like himself again; laughing and smiling as he taught his class about Europe during the 1930's. Primarily the Holocaust.

Maybe what he really needed was to just get back to work.

Time flew and before Lavi knew it: it was the end of the day. A smile still hung to his lips as he packed his stuff in his bag, mentally noting that he would need to grade his students' homework tonight but first, "I should probably buy something to eat..."

* * *

Since his release from the hospital he had been staying with Daiya, his former neighbor from before he and Allen moved in together; the former prankster wasn't well-known for actually have edible food - Daiya tended to eat on the go so most of his food was either expired or non-existent. Walking inside the convenience store, he often passed on his way home when he was getting his degree, he was welcomed by the small chime of the bell on the door. Lavi weaved his way past the late afternoon crowd of students just released from school, the adults with their little children and elderly who visit the store on a schedule. The redhead pulled himself over to the instant noodles that were displayed on several shelves; the sight of the food made nostalgia wash over him - he ate this during cram sessions until-

Shaking his head, he grabbed a couple off the shelf as he reminded himself he was only eating this because he still didn't have much of an appetite. Weaving his way towards the register was easier, the stocky guy behind the counter welcomed him with a smile: "Is this everything?" He asked as he quickly scanned the two cups of instant noodles before glancing at the redhead, curiosity evident in his eyes as they caught sight of the black eye-patch

Brushing it off, Lavi chuckled: "Yeah, buying these sorta feels like I'm going through school again" hoping to get the guy's attention off his eye; the stocky guy shook his head and laughed as he bagged the redhead's purchase.

"Have a good night," Lavi waved his hand before replying back: "Yeah, see ya"

Outside the air had grown slightly colder, pulling his arms close to his chest, he crossed his arms exhaling a shaky breath; he had a ten or so minute walk until he reached Daiya's place, not wanting to waste anymore time out in the cold weather Lavi headed on his way.

_...you're gonna think that you fix yourself_


	5. Chapter 5

Lavi wasn't sure what he was thinking when he accepted the offer to meet one of his students at a cafe in town; it was a spot well-known for all ages to go for a bite to eat or just to hang out. Nonetheless, there he was. Sitting at one of the booths with a book as he waited for his student to show up; just as the waitress was leaving after asking him once again if he wanted anything to eat, she showed up. Sachiko, a student who he often saw in the center of a large group of friends.

"Chomesuke," He waved her over, earning a huff as his awful nickname for her was publicly spoken; despite the embarrassment, the young brunette sat across from her history teacher.

Lavi watched as she fumbled, her hands never staying still as she seemed to struggle internally with whatever the reason was for calling him out like this. Saturdays were his one real day off -Sundays were spent doing work he should have done the day prior- and thus he was worried when she had called him out of the blue asking to meet him at Koumlin cafe.

"Was there something bothering you?" The redhead hoped his question didn't sound as if he were rushing her; he did honestly care about all of his students but he was sure that if anyone saw this, it would be painful to explain to the school board. And Gramps.

Biting her bottom lip, Sachiko tensed for a moment before finally relaxing with an exhale as she muttered: "Can I get your advice on something, sensei?"

"Uh, s-sure..." He wasn't used to such formalities from the brunette and considering her tone, Lavi didn't want to call her out on it; he gently pushed his recently-refilled coffee to the side but as his attention were moving back onto his troubled student it caught sight of something else. Allen.

His surroundings became muffled as he watched Allen entered the cafe with a tall man with dark wavy hair and the redhead's stomach turned in disgust; Tyki Mikki was someone that Lavi did not trust around his boyfriend and the only reason he hadn't made any threat towards the Portuguese was because he trusted Allen.

Feminine fingers snapped before him; jumping slightly, his mind had little time to realize that during his daze Sachiko had been talking before he gasped as the nerves in his leg finally sent the signal to his brain that he had spilled his coffee. The hot liquid had landed not only on his pants leg but on his hand that he had forgotten to move; out of the corner of his eye, Lavi saw the waitress from before rushing over to them with a towel.

Offering a small apology to Sachiko before glancing over towards the waitress, who had bent down to carefully clean up the mess without spilling more while offering the redhead a clean towel to dry his pants. Taking the cloth in his dry hand, he about to pat the spill when his eye caught the gaze of one of the patrons in the cafe out of the others that had turned their attentions at them.

Silver pools -that always melted away all frustrations from the day- stared at him wide and filled with a mix of emotions, forcing his attention onto anything else Lavi thanked the waitress and paid for his coffee before storming out. The air outside made the burn send ripples of grating pain throughout his leg but he kept up his pace. His head felt heavy; why was Allen out with Tyki of all people? Hadn't he promised the redhead that he would stay away from that flirtatious prick? Then again, they had a bit of a falling out so technically the Brit could see anyone he wanted but...

"...why him?" The question flew out of his mouth before he could stop it and now that it was out in the open; his chest felt heavy as he became lost in his negative thoughts.

His feet propelled him away from the cafe; he couldn't bear facing that sight again to apologize to his student, who he made short note that he had walked out on. He ignore the people he passed by as he brushed against them roughly; vivid colors of red and white reflected from his green eye as he slowly kept up his pace.

_[ ...you see them out with someone else... ]_

* * *

"-vi! LAVI!" A green eye widened as mere seconds in front of him a car sped past him; a shaky grip held him from behind, peppermint wafted from behind him and that alone made him slowly glance over his shoulder. Familiar white locks met his gaze and the redhead could only stare as he watched slender shoulders heave with heavy breaths before they calmed and their owner glanced up.

Allen looked like hell; up close the redhead could see the bags under his boyfriend's eyes as if the Brit hadn't slept in quite some time. The silver pools that were normally lively with a multitude of emotions were dark with only a few emotions present in them. Regret. Anger. Sadness but buried underneath was love.

"What the hell were you thinking? If I hadn't stopped you, you would have walked right into traffic idiot rabbit!" The sudden caring (but angry) outburst had halted all of Lavi's thoughts as he stared dumbfounded at his boyfriend; "Huh?" was the only logical thing his mind managed as Allen released his hold, allowing the redhead to finally turn and face the other.

The snow-capped adult ran a hand raggedly through his hair as he muttered, "Bloody hell, if its not a car accident... its drinking yourself until almost pass out at the bar... and now," groaning earning a dumbfounded look by the redhead, "you're walking into traffic,"

"Allen..." Lavi's words fell on deaf ears as the Brit continued his mumbling; normally the redhead found it adorable but right now, he was confused and trying to piece together the random set of words that flew out his boyfriend's mouth in different volumes. Some soft mumbles while others were clear.

Grabbing the snow-capped adult, the redhead mentally applauded himself as Allen stopped his mumbling, Lavi repeated his earlier attempt; "Allen..." His tone serious as his green eye came to meet silver pools that were filled with so many contradicting emotions before the mature atmosphere between them crumbled.

"...how did you know about the bar incident?" The silly question was his best attempt of getting away without further confusing himself with thoughts that couldn't possibly be true.

A vein visibly throbbed in the shorter adult's forehead before his eyes hardened slightly and brushed off Lavi's hands; "Because Lenalee called me that night..." He explained with a sigh that told the redhead more than Allen probably wanted him to know.

Allen had shown up at the bar because he was worried.

Worried about his boyfriend who had been an asshole last time.

"...I really fucked up, didn't I?" A genuine somber expression had melted onto the redhead's features as he stared down but before Allen could meet his gaze, Lavi pulled him against him. The snow-capped adult tensed for a moment before relaxing into the embrace, which still felt natural and right.

_[ ...when you admit you may have fucked up a little ]_


	6. Epilogue

The kitchen held an air of warmth as two people busied themselves with their task; Lenalee smiled as she chopped vegetables into bite size slices - this would be her first time hosting a Thanksgiving dinner. She was nervous about messing up, but one thing kept her going...

"Che," The person behind her clicked his tongue in a manner that told the young Chinese adult that he wanted to be done but had once again messed up.

Glancing over her shoulder, Kanda's back was the only thing she could see before he turned his head a little to glance down at something to his left before turning his head back to the task in front of him. Yes, she had managed to get him to help her.

* * *

Outside the streets were bustling with life with last minute shopping - among the crowd, Allen kept his pace while his mind wandered over the past month. After the events at the cafe, the Brit had made an honest attempt to talk with his boyfriend about their fight; at first, it seemed like the redhead wanted nothing more than to avoid talking about it. Not that Allen could blame him - when the snow-capped adult heard about Lavi's accident, he was furious! He wanted to race to the hospital and yell at the redhead as tears ran down his face, but when he got to Lavi's room his heart dropped. He hated seeing the normally vibrant childish adult covered in bandages. The IVs in his boyfriend arm also was no help. Slipping inside proved more difficult than he wanted it to, his chest ached with guilt and his legs felt as heavy as lead.

"Are you a friend of his?" A voice spoke from behind Allen, spooking the young adult who jumped the rest of the way into the hospital room.

Turning around, the Brit tentatively replied: "Y-yeah..." to the slightly worn down male behind him; the man, with his short brown hair tied back in a surprisingly neat ponytail, entered the room after Allen carrying a chart that no doubt belonged to Lavi.

"Let's see..." scanning the chart briefly, "Lavi Bookman... Made it through surgery just fine... Although he will be wearing a patch over his eye for a while... but other than that, he'll make a full recovery" The brunette man explained, finishing with a small warm smile.

A small part of him eased with relief, but the rest of him felt sick with guilt and anger; feeling a new sense of irritation towards his boyfriend for getting into an accident, Allen excused himself.

"Ah, wait... I know it's not my place but he should be waking up within the-"

Shaking his head, "Its better if he didn't know I was here," bowing his head, "Thank you for telling me how he was doing, doctor" the Brit passed the other male before leaving the hospital room.

He needed time to digest Lavi's newest idiotic move;  _at least he was alive. That was important..._ _  
_

The whole trip back home, Allen was sure he would visit Lavi in the hospital before the redhead was released, but when he got back to the place he shared with his boyfriend - it all came back. The fight. The frustration with Lavi's long and hectic hours at work. The problems with Tyki. Everything that boiled up after that. Leaning against the front door, he slid down it as he stared at the space before him. They had argued right in front of the door before Lavi stormed off and Allen went out on the balcony for a smoke.

"I'm sorry..." He drew his knees up to his chest and hugged them.

A couple days later, he got a call from Lenalee - he was surprised how he was able to keep the guilt well-hidden from her as he listened and responded like he was expected. Or at least he thought he had but right as he was about to end the conversation, the Chinese adult asked: "Is everything okay with you and Lavi?"

His resolve broke a little, "We had a fight that night..." He explained sadly, earning a gasp and apologetic whispers but before his best friend could go on he made up an excuse to end the conversation.

Mere moments after hanging up, his phone buzzed with a new text message: ' _If you are up to it, Lavi's going to be at HQ tonight_ ' Allen stared at the screen and for the rest of the night his eyes wandered over to it until he caved.

He hadn't expected anyone to still be there when he showed up, but one drink might help him forget his conversation with Lenalee. The bar was pretty empty, a few groups here and there but the most surprising sight was at the bar. A lump of red hair that couldn't be mistaken for anyone else sat at the bar with a glass of water in front of him; the bartender keeping an eye on the drunk customer.

Taking the spot quietly beside the redhead was nerve-wracking no matter how many times the Brit tried mentally reminding himself that he needed to apologize about the portion of the fight surrounding Tyki. His words caught in his throat when a bleary green eye glance over at him and it was then that he understood why the doctor had mentioned a patch; the white eye-patch glared at him like a neon sign.

"Lavi... let's get you home..." Allen spoke slowly; he knew all too well how the redhead was when intoxicated and as expected, the redhead seemed to be dozing off.

With no other option, the Brit somehow managed to hoist his drunk and sleeping boyfriend onto his back; he gave a small smile to the bartender as thanks for keeping an eye on the redhead before he made the trip to his car. Getting Lavi in and out of his car was easy, but getting him upstairs to reach their apartment was harder and by the end, Allen was ready to curl up and sleep right next to him.

Carefully placing Lavi on their bed, the snow-capped adult stumbled out of their bedroom and headed back to their living room; their couch was comfy and just as sleep took him over, he noted that he would have to get up earlier than Lavi. He was still a little scared to bring the fight up again in order to apologize.

The next morning, Allen was up and out of the house before the Lavi got up; on his way out the door, he called the hospital, leaving a message with the redhead's doctor to inform him where Lavi was. After hanging up the Brit, who had made it to his car, simply sat hoping work might get his mind off of their fight. And his guilt...

...but it didn't. No, Allen found himself facing it head-on. Bak Chang, a co-worker of his, had come to him asking for advice about resolving a fight he and his girlfriend had last night. It wasn't even the fight that reminded him of his own - it was the events that happened during and after that made Allen choke on his answers at times.

By lunchtime, Allen had found the determination to bring up the fight so he could apologize after work, but when he arrived home he was met by silence. Lavi couldn't have been given the 'ok' to go back to work yet so where was he? Pulling out his cell phone to call the redhead, Allen entered the kitchen to at least start dinner, but a bright orange post-it note caught his eye.

'I'm _going - Lavi_ '

Those two words hurt; the snow-capped adult sunk to his knees, the post-it note crumpling in his hand as he bent forward until his forehead reached the floor. Tears breaking past all his defenses, Allen regretted their fight more than ever. He hated that he didn't have the courage to wake the redhead up this morning to apologize. That he hadn't rushed home during his lunch break - maybe then he could have caught Lavi before he left.

That night Allen didn't sleep and when the hours finally ticked by, the snow-capped adult called in sick, but still he hadn't moved much from his spot in the kitchen. The orange post-it note laid slightly crumpled in his outstretched hand as the Brit curled up on his side; where had Lavi gone? Who was he with? Was he okay?

Questions like those plagued his mind as his eyes started feeling heavy...

An abrupt knock sent Allen upright before a hiss escaped his defenses the moment his body caught up with his sudden movement. Sitting against the counter, the Brit was ready to ignore the annoyance until it went away, but thirty minutes later - it was still there! Knocking. Loudly.

Vein throbbing in his forehead, Allen all but slammed the door open, but irritation quickly vanished when he saw who was standing on the other side. Holding up a bag that no doubt contained ample cold remedies, Tyki took a long drag of his cigarette before speaking: "About time... I was sure I would need to call the police or something..."

The sight of the toxin dangling dangerously from the Portuguese's lips made Allen's stomach churn; it had been a few days he had last had one. And it was one of the leading reasons he and Lavi fought that night.

"Sorry... not really feeling well right now," He lied politely.

"So I heard..." Tyki's eyes narrowed at the snow-capped adult's appearance; it was obvious that the other hadn't slept much -if at all- and it was obvious that he wasn't  _really_  sick with any sort of excusable illness so that only left, "Let's go out for lunch. I'm thinking some cheap cafe food... might help take your mind off of things," The Portuguese suggested as he turned and started heading back the way he came.

"E-eh? B-but I'm-" Allen's attempt to cut any non-work related excursions with his co-worker was silenced when the other glanced over with a threatening gleam in his eye.

The smile that spread on Tyki's face further expressed his threat, "But if you don't I'll explain to the boss that you skipped work for no reason"

Huffing, "Give me a moment," The Brit turned around and grabbed his jacket off the top of the couch before following his co-worker. The cafe was, luckily, not far from his house; following reluctantly behind Tyki until the other grabbed a seat at the counter of the cafe. After taking a seat, Allen glanced at the interior - it gave off a cozy feeling with the paintings and photographs that were done by either college or high school students interested in art and photography.

The sound of an all-too familiar gasp loudly echoed inside the building, earning everyone's -including Allen's- attention; the snow-capped adult's chest swelled painfully at the sight of Lavi sitting at one of the booths with a young lady that appeared to be one of the redhead's students. His gaze was briefly blocked as a waitress moved past him to rush over to the redhead, who once the waitress was out of Allen's line of vision glanced up. Silver pools met green and as quickly as they met, it was over.

Allen watched as the redhead spoke to the waitress before excusing himself and leaving the cafe in a hurry; without a moment's hesitation, the Brit was following. Outside he was met with a breeze and a few yards to his right was Lavi, his pace not letting up for a moment.

The snow-capped adult did all he could to keep up, but his legs were much shorter than his boyfriend's, and just when it seemed like he would lose Lavi in the crowd on the sidewalk - a burst of speed hit him just in time.

"LAVI!" Allen's voice found its strength; grabbing the fabric of the redhead's shirt, he pulled the both of them backwards a couple steps just as mere inches before them, a car sped past them.

Silvers eyes, shook with a flood of emotions as he heard the noise on the street grow silent and the noise around them picked up. Allen felt movement under his shaky grip before feeling a gaze land on him, inhaling slowly helped calm the adrenaline rushing around inside him. Glancing up, silver met green; Lavi's eye widened and the Brit could see. See how restless his boyfriend was. The bag under his sole green eye, which lacked luster, said volumes about how the redhead had been handling the break-up.

Regret. Surprise. Sadness but underneath there was still love.

"What the hell were you thinking? If I hadn't stopped you, you would have walked right into traffic idiot rabbit!" The sudden caring (but angry) outburst had slipped out before Allen even had a chance to stop it.

Lavi's brain seemed to freeze at that moment and the only logical thing he managed was a weak: "Huh?" as Allen released his hold, allowing the redhead to finally turn and face the other.

The snow-capped adult ran a hand raggedly through his hair as he muttered, "Bloody hell, if it's not a car accident... its drinking yourself until you almost pass out at the bar... and now," groaning earning a dumbfounded look by the redhead, "you're walking into traffic,"

Allen continued naming off all the stupid things the redhead had done since they had met, bringing up a lot of irritating memories but upon feeling hands grab his shoulder - he stopped.

"Allen..." Lavi's tone serious as his green eye came to meet silver pools that were filled with so many contradicting emotions before the mature atmosphere between them crumbled: "...how did you know about the bar incident?"

The childish atmosphere forced between them cause a vein to visibly throb in the shorter adult's forehead before his eyes hardened slightly and brushed off the redhead's hands; "Because Lenalee invited me that night..." He explained with a sigh that he was sure would give away more than he wanted his response to let on.

* * *

"You okay over there?" Lavi voice drew Allen from his thoughts; glancing over he saw concern laced with the regret that still hadn't left that green eye since their fight.

Smiling, "Yeah, just thinking..." Allen trailed off, not wanting to bring up the topic again, but still they had a lot to fix if they were ever to ease the wedge -that had formed because of their fight- into oblivion.

"...about the fight, right?" Lavi's question needed no answer; it was obvious. It was a topic that was constantly on both of their minds and throughout this past month, the wedge between them hadn't grown much smaller.

Squeezing the fingers laced with his, Allen hoped to make the tense atmosphere between disappear before they reached Lenalee's place; the grin that greeted him back was more than enough to say that they could make it work. They could move past their fight. The wedge. Everything.


End file.
